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Ingredients and types of food |
Maocai (Chinese:冒菜;pinyin:màocài) is a stew-like dish originating from theChinese city ofChengdu, inSichuan. It is composed of a variety of vegetables as well as meat and/or fish in a stock made ofmala sauce. Although it is similar to styles ofhot pot common in this region, its chief difference lies in the fact that the ingredients are already cooked when served, and hence no simmering is done at the table.
Although there is great variation in the ingredients used inmaocai, typically any of the following vegetables are included:lotus root,potato slices,Chinese cabbage,cucumber,winter melon,cauliflower,wood ear,enoki,oyster mushrooms,seaweed,bamboo shoots,tofu,yuba,beansprouts, as well asrice vermicelli andcellophane noodles made ofsweet potato starch.
The meats most frequently encountered arebeef,pork andlamb, although other meats and more specific cuts may be used too.
The namemaocai is derived from the verbmao (Chinese:冒;pinyin:mào;Chengdu dialect:/mau˨˩˧/) which inSichuanese Mandarin refers to the blanching of the ingredients in a colander in hot water by moving the colander up and down repeatedly.[1] This pre-cooking of the ingredients before immersion in the stock sets it apart from most types of hot pot.
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